Nathan's Challenge Marketing Blog

My intention is to inspire bloggers to do their own research and come to the same conclusions that I am coming to. I will strive to convey meaning through content, context and structure and try to inspire readers with facts, experiences and storytelling. That is my challenge.

Saturday, December 31, 2005

Inspirational Challenge Quotes

George S. PattonAccept challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.

Amelia EarhartAdventure is worthwhile.

Unknown AuthorAnything unattempted remains impossible.

Ralph Waldo EmersonAs long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.

Chinese proverbBe not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

Joshua J. MarineChallenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Mark TwainCourage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward, it is not a compliment to say it is brave.

William Ellery ChanningDifficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.

Ralph Waldo EmersonDo not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Grace HansenDon't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.

Challenge In Cartoons

Friday, December 30, 2005

Eleven Challenges In The News

It’s the greatest challenge – and opportunity – at your company.If it’s a challenge, it is also an opportunity to rise to the challenge and be an asset to your company by finding solutions that benefit the company.

Biggest Challenges: Patience, spending more time with my family and friends and how I can be a better person tomorrow.

Challenge in my Astrological Forecast: Cancer (June 22 to July 22)You finally hang out with someone who can challenge you intellectually.

The Value Challenge for MarketersThe purpose of business is to create a customer. The business enterprise has two (and only these tw) basic functions: Marketing and Innovation, both of which produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.

Value is a customer concept representing the ratio between the perceived benefit and its cost to the customer. The fundamental challenge of business is to understand how to deliver customer value. The challenge is finding balance between the discipline of efficiency and the craft of innovation.

The Challenges of MarketingPromoting, selling, positioning, targeting, branding and innovating. Marketing has a symbiotic relationship with technology that has steadily reduced the distance between the company and the consumer.

The Challenge: To compose a complete – and most likely bizarre – sentence using five random words.

I’d pick the dangerous one, because I’m not afraid of a challenge.Is that stupid or what? Why pick the dangerous one if you don’t have to? Sometimes, it’s OK to be afraid of a challenge.

Technology is what we need to take up the challenge of easing human efforts.For me, that depends what human effort needs easing. If it’s choosing which of my two favorite TV shows to watch, I will definitely let technology save the other one for me to watch later, when I want to watch it.

The credit process can be a challenging one, particularly for new entrepreneursCredit is just one of the ways we are related to other people. When you don’t need credit, you receive credit cards in the mail and notices that your credit limit has been raised to a new high. When you need the credit, that’s when they make it tough. Why? So that the finance company can meet their challenge of making money. The problem with most new entrepreneurs is that they don’t have the money or they would have paid for themselves.

Microsoft could have kick-started its attempt to challenge Google and YahooIMHO, this is a battle that Microsoft should not have allowed Google to win. My money was always on Google, unlike a number of informed persons who were sure it was going to be Microsoft. With AOL as a partner, Google-AOL is now the primary competitor to Yahoo, with Microsoft now in a solid third position. Google-AOL (with a little help from Time Warner and Comcast) can become the leading search engine. Microsoft should not have allowed Google to win, because now they might lose the war, the Search War that is.

The sale only lasts 36 hours. This is a huge challenge.For whom is this a huge challenge, the company or the customer? Does the company really think that this event is so huge that we are challenged by it? Or, is it a challenge for the company to stay open for 36 hours to try and sell enough product to make it worth the effort? In either case, this would never be a huge challenge for me.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

My ‘Challenge Marketing’ Game

A game is a challenge. It’s about playing the game, keeping score and winning. I made up the Challenge Marketing Game. I make the rules, I know what it means to me. Why do I play? Because I like it, feel good about doing it and it helps me be successful in my work ... meeting challenges with viable innovative positioning solutions.

How do I play the Challenge Marketing Game? Every day, I search multiple media for the word ‘Challenge’ – in the headlines, taglines, content and advertisements. My goal is to find at least 3 challenges in the news every day. Most days, I find more than three. I collect them, read them and highlight the reference for meaning. I need to complete the organization and filing by category: News, Business, Sports, Politics, Health, etc. Once highlighted, I think the meaning of this application. I look for insights that can be applied to current challenges I am dealing with. Understanding is the ability to explain.

For years, I have continually applied the essence of the meanings to marketing strategies and tactical implementation executions. By starting with a challenge awareness, I have a head start on being first with a solution, rather than another definition of the challenge.

What I Like Most About Blogging

The thing I like most about blogging is that when I have something to say, I can. Yes, freedom of communication. Just because I already wrote a blog today doesn’t mean I can’t write another one, I can.Challenge In The News Today

In a Season Filled with ChallengesWhat season isn’t filled with challenges of one kind or another? If I am not being challenged, I’m resting. It all depends on what you consider a challenge. The season finale is bringing one more challenge. Deal with it, it could be a gift from God.

New popularity of traditional water pipes poses challenge for smoke-free environmentHookahs are in the news. It’s now a trend. The tradition is posing a new challenge to the anti-tobacco movement in the U.S. The popularity of hookah runs against the anti-tobacco trend, partly because it appeals to teens and young adults. Water pipes also are exempted from some smoke-fee laws and enjoy a mystique of being a more cultural and safer alternative to cigarettes.

... the lastest of many challenges he’s faced“Sometimes I couldn’t see no results, but you have to keep doing what you’re supposed to do,” said Leon Powe, star forward for California.

How Islamic Group’s Ties Reveal Europe’s Challenge ... Prominence underscores Europe’s Challenge in dealing with its growing Muslim minorityBetter to deal with this challenge before it grows. Solve tomorrow’s predicable problems today and save time, energy and dollars.

My ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ Challenge For The New Year

For Chrismukah (Christmas and Chanukah), my son gave me the book ‘Blue Ocean Strategy – How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrevelant’ by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

I started reading the book and finished it in less than two days. I was inspired. For me, it was another perception and confirmation of what marketing is and how to be a good marketer. There were challenge references throughout the book. For me, the challenge is in the positioning; that is, the development of a story for presentation that is based on the truth, the facts and the realities of the product and service.

Following are challenge references and personal reflections of what I highlighted while reading, as a basis of turning information into knowledge into meaning into awareness into incorporation and finally into application.

My New Year’s Challenge Marketing Resolution

To do my best to inspire and influence every reader to persuade them-selves to Drink H2Ultra Fitness Water, Use Future Spark Plugs and Conduct an Individualized Search every day and tell all their friends to do the same.

Challenges In ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’

In a book that challenges everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success.

Blue Ocean Strategy challenges companies to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant.

This book not only challenges companies but also shows them how to achieve this. We first introduce a set of analytical tools and frameworks that show you how to systematically act on this challenge and, second, we elaborate the principles that define and separate blue ocean strategy from competition-based strategic thought.

... the complexity of wine’s taste created flavor challenges for the average person even though it was the basis on which the industry fought to excel.

The challenge is to successfully identify, out of the haystack of possibilities that exist, commercially compelling blue ocean opportunities. This challenge is key because managers cannot afford to be riverboat gamblers.

Challenging an industry’s conventional wisdom about which buyer group to target can lead to the discovery of a new blue ocean.

... presented significant challenges in administering.

When companies are willing to challenge the functional-emotional orientation of their industry, they often find new market space.

... the challenge for Apple will be to keep its sights on the evolving mass market and not to fall into competitive benchmarking or high-end niche marketing.

This is no small challenge.

Assessing to what extent your company and its competitors offer the various competitive factors is equally challenging.

It serves as a forceful wake-up call for companies to challenge their existing strategies, which is essential to reach a common understanding of its current position.

Great strategic insights are less the product of genius than of getting into the field and challenging the boundaries of competition.

Reach beyond existing demand. To achieve this, companies should challenge two conventional practices. One is the focus on existing customers. The other is the drive for finer segmentation to accommodate buyer differences.

... challenge existing, taken-for-granted strategic orientations.

The next challenge is to build a robust business model to ensure that you make a healthy profit on your blue ocean idea.

This challenge is exacerbated when the notion of excludability is considered. A good is excludable it the company can prevent others from using it; that is, limited access or patent protection.

The main challenge in determining a strategic price is to understand the price sensitivities of those people who will be comparing the new product or service with a host of very different-looking products and services offered outside the group of traditional competitors.

Part of the challenge of meeting the target cost is addressed in building a strategic profile that has not only divergence but also focus.

... discussion of the company’s strategy for meeting the challenge of the Internet.

... the key challenge is to engage in an open discussion about why the adoption of the new idea is necessary.

The challenge of execution exists, of course, for any strategy.

Managers have assured us that the challenge is steep. They face four hurdles: Cognitive, limited resources, motivation and politics.

Atomization relates to the framing of the strategic challenge. Unless people believe that the strategic challenge is attainable, the change is not likely to succeed.

To make the challenge attainable, he broke it down into bite-size atoms that officers at different levels could relate to. As he put it, the challenge was to make the streets safe. Thus framed, the challenge was both all-encompassing and doable. For the officers, the challenge was to make their beat safe. For the commanders, the challenge was to make their precinct safe.

Challenging conventional wisdom.

Not every challenge requires a proportionate action. Focus on acts of disproportionate influence.

The next chapter addresses the challenge of aligning people’s minds and hearts with the new strategy by building a culture of trust, commitment and voluntary cooperation in its execution.

A blue ocean strategy will go without credible challenges for 10-to-15 years because of value innovation, brand image, patents, high volume and buzz.

Blue oceans were created by both industry incumbents and new entrants, challenging the lore that start-ups have natural advantages over established companies in creating new market space.

Friday, December 23, 2005

The Challenges

My Challenge – To listen to the messages that come to me, in various and diverse forms, in response to personal and business challenges and to decide which ones maximize the answers for me, today. I challenge myself daily to be the best I can be doing what I do best and have FUN – Feeling Unlimited Naturally – all day, every day.

Personal Challenges – To feel great every day, have FUN (feel unlimited naturally) and share ‘Priceless Memories’ with family and friends.

Business Challenges – Freedom. To do what I do best and most enjoy, to think about what I want to think about and be able to deliver from wherever I am. Don’t bother me, I’m fishing.

Positioning Challenges – To increase the awareness of my clients’ patented technologies, new products and services. Currently, I am working on positioning a new functional hydration bottled water for Individualized Wellness; a future spark plug; Individualized Search and MyBlogAgency.com – a PayPer Sale Blog Management and Marketing online agency.

Sales Challenges – To define niche markets that our competitors are not aware of and be First To The Market and to introduce our unique PayPer Sale compensation program that rewards us for making sales, rather than generating clicks and leads.

Challenge In The News Today

Every challenge is an opportunity.

... look forward to the opportunity to work with him in meeting the continuing challenges of reducing air pollution in California.

Evolution is challenged.

Rivals challenge dominance.

He is challenging a school district and Florida law.

The Strub Handicapping Challenge

How’s it going? It’s a challenge.

Bush’s Supreme Challenge

UC Rebuffs Challenge to Los Alamos Pact

Rising to the Challenger

Security will soon increase but may also be challenged by rare legal or financial restrictions.

Shooting at the Louvre was a challenge.

Experience the thrills, challenges and excitement of first-time (home) buyers.

We challenged four water- and energy-saving machines with our toughest stains.

Playing dress-up can help you rise to a challenging occasion.

... sat them all down in small teams and challenged them to find better ways of working.

I want my computer to be a tool, now a challenge.

... program is dedicated to the future of the nation’s forests, as well as the challenge of preserving rate and endangered forests around the world.

Finally, we can recognize that our charge now is to make responsible choices in the rebuilding challenges we face.

Every challenge is an opportunity – This statement was made by the new Time Warner CEO. Whether Mr. Bewkes gets Mr. Parson’s job may depend on how well Time Warner responds to the challenges toward digital delivery of the content it produces. Alliances with Google and Comcast will help.

... look forward to the opportunity to work with him in meeting the continuing challenges of reducing air pollution in California. – Gov. Swartzenegger filled the top position of the Air Resources Board with an internationally reputed trendsetter in environmental positions. The rule requiring automakers to reduce tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases from cars and trucks nearly 30% by 2016 is being challenged in court by most of the world’s car companies.

Evolution is challenged. – This is way to big a challenge for me. I’m just glad I am here.

Rivals challenge dominance. – Unless you are the lead elephant, the view is always the same. Challenging dominance is difficult, as the dominant party has already fought and won battles to become dominant. A rival is a competitor looking to gain dominance. Find a niche and fortify your position defensively.

He is challenging a school district and Florida law. – A 17-year old student is suing for the right not to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Personally, I hope he loses, so that the over 90% of Americans who want to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance can.

The Strub Handicapping Challenge – Naming a challenge is good. It’s not how you play the game, but who is keeping score.

How’s it going? It’s a challenge. – The Chief of Staff on the West Wing asked the question and the President answered it.

Bush’s Supreme Challenge – Like the President doesn’t have enough challenges every day. How much bigger is supreme than super-sized?

UC Rebuffs Challenge to Los Alamos Pact – We won, our opponents lost.

Rising to the Challenger – The 2006 Dodge Challenger. Designers tried to build the car that most people see in their mind’s eye. Autoweek can’t see why Dodge wouldn’t rise to this challenge and actually build it.

Security will soon increase but may also be challenged by rare legal or financial restrictions. – Look out Scorpio’s (October 24 to November 22), as this was in your horoscope today.

Shooting at the Louvre was a challenge. – But Tom Hanks got through it when filming The Da Vinci Code. Shooting is always a challenge, keep you eye focused

Experience the thrills, challenges and excitement of first-time (home) buyers. – You mean the time, energy and dollars we had to spend just to make the deal and move in? I have experienced it several times and have yet to find it an exciting thrill.

We challenged four water- and energy-saving machines with our toughest stains. – What did we find out? Tough stains take more water and energy to get out.

Playing dress-up can help you rise to a challenging occasion. – If you look good, you feel good and draw good things to you. Others do notice.

... sat them all down in small teams and challenged them to find better ways of working. – What took leaders so long to listen to their frontline? By visually mapping information, companies turn logjams of thought into rivers of creative new ideas.

I want my computer to be a tool, not a challenge. – Yes, we all want our computers to be a tool and not a challenge.

... program is dedicated to the future of the nation’s forests, as well as the challenge of preserving rate and endangered forests around the world. – The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is to grow tomorrow’s forests today, because if we run out of forests, we will run out of every product that depends on the forests.

Finally, we can recognize that our charge now is to make responsible choices in the rebuilding challenges we face. – We need to recognize our charge in the beginning and make responsible choices to build solutions, not rebuild challenges that we face.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

The Best Place To Start

The project started many years ago at a meeting where one of the participants asked, “Can you meet this marketing challenge? and I replied, “Yes” and then did. It was true then, as it is today, that I welcome, look for, respond to and balance the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual challenges in my life.

Every day, I search for input from multiple media forms (newspapers, online news, magazines, radio, television and people) to help meet current challenges with solutions that maximize the available and combined resources of time, energy and dollars. As I read, I scan for the word, or a variation of, challenge in the headlines and content. I have collected and highlighted several thousand samples and continually reference the content and context in a self-created structure to gain meaning, understanding and knowledge that can then be turned into viable solutions.

The Best Time To Start Blogging

Today, I am starting today with this blog entry. Today, like every day, I went online to check my Individualized key words, so as to personalize the way I want to view information – by topic, industry and product category – presented to me (format, font and type size). Then I reviewed the Daily News, LA Times, NY Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, where I physically removed the pages I want, separating and prioritizing them for highlighting details and filing.

I read the challenge input first, as it inspires me to think about its use and meaning in terms of someone else’s challenge and what they are doing about it. This provides me with insights into how I could apply their learned experiences (frontline knowledge) to meet the needs and expectations of my current personal and business marketing challenges.

Challenge In The News Today

* A Group’s Special Challenge* We are faced with a major challenge* China’s approach to the challenge shows ...* When Microsoft felt challenged by Netscape a decade ago* Challenge the ordinary. Be E*traordinary* New challenges for US Policy

A Group’s Special Challenge – Each of us is part of one or more groups, with each group facing its’ own special challenges. The challenge here is to dramatize two elements in careful balance. Special needs require innovative and creative thinking that meets the needs of the group.

We were faced with a major challenge – Some challenges are more major than others, prioritize. When faced with a major challenge, be sure to look at The Void – the opposite side of “It can’t be done.” When you know what won’t work, by looking at The Void, you will gain insights into what might work. “We were faced with a major challenge,” says LaVigne Chief Executive Chris Wells, “Putting ink on paper had become a commodity.”

China’s approach to the challenge shows ... – Actions count and shows that you are aware of the challenge. Approach follows awareness and attention phases and indicates the tactical implementation of a solution strategy. China’s approach to the challenge show that as it integrates itself into the global economy, it isn’t willing to surrender entirely to market forces.

When Microsoft felt challenged by Netscape a decade ago – Ten years ago, many of the services (eMail, cellphones, the Internet) that we take for granted today were not mainstream and even if they were, most of us were ‘afraid’ because we didn’t think we knew what to do with the new technologies. Today, we are no longer afraid and are ready. “The biggest problem for Microsoft is that Microsoft sells what Google gives away, which harkens back to the day when Netscape was selling what Microsoft could give away,” said Geoffrey Moore, author Dealing with Darwin: How Great Companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution.

Challenge the ordinary. Be E*traordinary – This is the theme line for E*Trade Financial and appears in all their ads. What a great statement and goal: Be the best you can be and make a difference. Accept the norm or be innovative and change the norm. Someone once said, “If man can think of it, it can be done.”

Sunday, December 11, 2005

MyBlogAgent Blog

Timing is to marketing what location is to real estate. Blogs are timely, informative, provocative, challenging and inspiring. Positioning for placement in the mind of a customer is more important than the quality of the product or service and their benefits to the buyer.

In MyBlogAgent Blog, I will be blogging about frontline learning experiences and our ability to be flexible and responsive to the thoughts, feelings and insights of our readers. Actions lead to solutions. Opportunities lead to success, the achieving the combined expectations. I have waited years for this personal opportunity and have a lot to say.

My intention is to inspire bloggers to do their own research and come to the same conclusions that I am coming to. I will strive to convey meaning through content, context and structure and try to inspire readers with facts, experiences and storytelling. That is my challenge.